Emma Mertens, a seven-year-old girl from Wisconsin with an inoperable brain tumor, received a special surprise Saturday.
Mertens was diagnosed in January with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, an extremely rare brain tumor, according to Fox29. After Martens learned of her diagnosis, a friend asked people to send her letters including photos of their dogs because she loves the animals so much. (RELATED: Trump Talks To Terminally Ill Connecticut Man, Fulfills His Dying Wish)
LET’S HELP HER OUT! 7-year-old Emma Mertens is fighting a very rare and inoperable brain tumor.
Now, all she wants is a letter or email from your dog to provide her comfort. https://t.co/Sn7AdtaoXY pic.twitter.com/DMCga7LMiD
— ABC 7 News – WJLA (@ABC7News) March 1, 2019
On Saturday, K-9 officers from 40 different police departments showed up at Mertens’ house to introduce her to some new friends.
The Hartford, Wisconsin, Police Department shared photos of the visit on their Facebook page showing the K-9 officers along with their dogs lined up outside of Mertens’ home.
Along with the photos, they wrote, “Today, just a few of us (roughly 40) stopped by to see Emma. She had no idea we were coming so she was VERY excited. What an amazing and strong little girl.”
On the family’s “Team Emma” Facebook page, they shared photos of Mertens with the dogs, as well. The family wrote, “There are no words … Pure Joy! Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in this. Emma is still all smiles.”
Look at that smile! Emma of Hartland is suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. Tune into @TMJ4 @ 6:00 to find out how more than 100,000 people have helped grant her wish. pic.twitter.com/ws61EbWmMJ
— Ben Jordan (@BenJordan3) February 28, 2019
Back in February, a friend wrote Mertens a letter and included a photo of her dog. She then shared with other friends to do the same. After just a few weeks the family said Mertens had received over 75,000 letters from all different parts of the country.
You can donate to Emma’s GoFundMe page here.